


Touch

by Moon_Blitz



Category: Being Erica
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-21
Updated: 2011-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26899453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Blitz/pseuds/Moon_Blitz
Summary: An accidental kiss makes Erica think about her relationship with Dr. Tom.
Relationships: Erica Strange/Dr. Tom
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Touch

Erica drew back from Dr. Tom, feeling her cheeks start to burn. She hadn‘t meant to kiss him on the cheek, but gratitude had seemingly overwhelmed reason for a few moments. “Er…thanks,” she said awkwardly, watching the mild surprise fade from his face.

“For?”

“For everything that you’ve done for me over the past month. I…haven’t exactly been a model patient at times.”

“You’re welcome, then.” Lips twitching, her therapist went to the bookshelf, removed a book and settled behind his desk to read it. Backing towards the door, Erica cast him a final look before opening it and leaving the office. As she went about her day, she reflected that Dr. Tom hadn’t seemed upset at the unexpected kiss. Odd, but he wasn’t exactly what she would term ‘normal’.

\- - -

Letting out a startled gasp, she hurried through the door of the photocopying room and quickly shut it behind her, hoping none of her co-workers had caught a glimpse of the office. “Would you _please_ stop playing musical doors like this? It’s stressing me out.”

“People say that therapy is supposed to be stressful at first. That’s what makes it so effective. Please, take a seat,” Dr. Tom replied, nodding at the seat across from him.

“I can honestly say I’ve never met these ‘people’ who say such things,” Erica answered, setting the folder she was carrying down on the desk and sitting in the indicated chair.

“No? Then you’re obviously not looking hard enough,” Dr. Tom said, leaning back in his seat.

Deciding it was time to change the topic, she responded by saying, “So, where are you sending me today?”

“Nowhere. We’re going to try something different today.”

“Oh.” Feeling vaguely uneasy with the change in routine, Erica shifted and asked, “Why not?”

“We’ve known each other for what, about a month? I think it’s about time for us to have a good long chat. Besides, things seem fairly stable in your life at the moment.”

“I suppose so…” Aside from the usual office politics and the ongoing drama between Claire and Ethan, things had been pretty good the last few days. “Then what do you want to talk about?”

“Your relationships,” Dr. Tom said simply, tipping he head slightly sideways and giving her a long look.

“My relationships? What kind do you mean?”

“Whatever kind you want to talk about.”

“Um, ok.” Wondering where this was leading to, Erica closed her eyes and tried to calm down a little. For some reason, she felt nervous around Dr. Tom today; almost as nervous as she had been the day she had first entered his office. Opening her eyes again, she breathed deeply and started to speak. “Alright, you already about a few past boyfriends and close family, so I guess I’ll talk about my relatives. Have I told you about Uncle Rudy?”

“Nope.”

Feeling a more confident now, she smiled as a memory rose in her mind and launched into the story surrounding the event.

\- - -

Erica sat on her couch, only half-watching TV as she mulled over the day’s therapy session. She had told Dr. Tom about most of her relatives on both sides of her family, leaving out those who she barely knew or had died when she was young. He had listened patiently to it all, only occasionally interrupting to ask her a question or comment on something. It had gone well, she supposed, clicking off the TV and climbing to her feet. But her feeling of discomfort had lingered throughout the session, even though the kiss hadn’t been brought up.

Pushing open the bathroom door with the intention of brushing her teeth, she stopped in surprise as she found herself in Dr. Tom’s office. He was seated in the wingback chair she had noticed on previous visits, absorbed in a thick book. Without looking up, he asked, “Can I help you, Erica?”

“Um…” Not entirely sure what to say, she settled for, “I don’t think so. Did you want me?”

“No.”

“Then why am I here?”

“An excellent question. Why _are_ you here?” Frowning as she watched him continue reading, Erica shifted uneasily. If he didn’t want to see her, what had brought her to his office? Fate? The quirks of time travel?

“Er, Is it possible that I accidentally walked in here?” She watched his brow furrow, and belatedly realized she was distracting him. “Actually, never mind. Goodnight, Dr. Tom.” Without waiting for an answer, she hastily backed out of the office and closed the door. Opening it again after ten seconds, she was relieved to find that her bathroom was back in its rightful place.

\- - -

“Did you sleep well?” Jumping at the sudden question, Erica spun towards the voice to find herself staring at the front and back pages of an open newspaper.

“Dr. Tom?” she asked uncertainly, not having expected to run into him out in public.

“Were you expecting someone else?” her therapist asked, lowering the paper and folding it into his lap. “Come, sit.”

Perching on the bench next to him, Erica wondered what he wanted. While she fidgeted, her therapist leaned forward, gazing out at the passing traffic. After a few moments, he turned to her and observed, “I don’t think I’ve seen you this nervous since your first session.”

“I don’t think you’ve even come up to me on the street like this,” she shot back, then bit her lip at the angry tone in her words. This wasn’t a official session, so why did it feel like an interrogation?

“I suppose you have a point…lots of unusual things seemed to have happened lately. Don‘t you agree?”

“I guess so.” Erica muttered, flushing at the memory of kissing him. It had just been a quick peck on the cheek, but somehow it felt like more than that to her. As to what Dr. Tom thought if it, she didn’t dare ask.

“You guess so? What, are you telling me you don’t have an opinion about this? How very surprising.” Eyes narrowing, she saw that he was smiling slightly, nearly smirking.

“Look, I have things to do,” Erica said abruptly, grabbing her purse and rising.

“Oh, so I’m a bother now? Well, you were the one who barged into my office last night, Erica Strange,” Dr. Tom replied sharply. She turned and started to walk quickly away, silently fuming over his holier-than-thou attitude. A minute later she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to see her therapist a few steps behind her. Shooting him a ‘go away’ glare, she proceeded to run several of her errands, the man always lingering nearby. After twenty minutes of this, she had had enough.

“Are you going to follow me around all day?” she snapped upon turning to face him.

Giving her a bland look, he responded, “I’m not following you.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“Shopping, like you are.”

Eyeing his empty hands, she pointed out, “You haven’t bought anything.”

“It‘s illegal to browse now? That’s new.”

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Erica grumbled, “What do you _want_ , Dr. Tom?”

“To talk. That’s all.”

“Too bad, I’m not in the mood.”

“Erica-” As she turned away, he reached out and grabbed her arm, the sensation of contact sending a strange feeling through her as she stiffened. Looking surprised, Dr. Tom quickly let her go and said awkwardly, “You are not being a model patient right now.”

She could only stare as he stepped past her, then forced herself to speak. “Dr. Tom, wait!” He paused briefly to let her catch up, and they walked in silence for a few minutes. “What…what did you want to talk about?” she asked quietly.

“You’ve been acting odd around me these past few days. I was curious to know if it was because you kissed me,” he replied slowly, sounding unusually apprehensive. Steps faltering, she considered what to say, then nodded.

“Yeah, it is. I…” Erica trailed off, feeling herself blush. But Dr. Tom was looking at her with interest, so she made herself continue. “I guess I’ve been worrying about it. You didn’t say anything about it, and that made me nervous. Or something like that, anyway.” she muttered, not really sure what she was attempting to say.

“I see,” he answered, directing them into an empty alley. Stopping and leaning against the graffitied walls with a soft sigh, he continued. “I’m sorry. I should have said something. I thought you were comfortable with everything.” There was a slight bitterness to his words that made her wish that she had just forgotten the whole situation.

“It’s alright. Both of use should have spoken up about it,” Erica replied, shifting to lean against the wall beside him, giving him a soft smile. He nodded silently in agreement, then looked away when she asked, “Are you upset with me?”

She could almost feel him tense up at the question, but Dr. Tom just shook his head. “No,” he said, so quietly she almost didn’t catch it. Glancing down the alley, she slowly moved her hand over until it brushed his. He flinched, but didn’t pull away when she tried again after a few seconds. Sliding her fingers across his palm, Erica knew she was pushing up against an invisible boundary. But she could sense that he needed this, and so pretended not to notice when his hand tightened a fraction around her fingers.

She was sorely tempted to lean her head on his shoulder, but that would be going too far. So they stood like that in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Dr. Tom was the first to break the spell with a low cough.

“I should probably go,” he murmured, and Erica turned her head to meet his gaze. He looked regretful and a bit lost, and she wished she could comfort him somehow.

“Alright,” she said as he released her hand, retreating even further a moment later by shoving both of his into his coat pockets. “You ok?” His expression brightened a bit at her smile, and he gave a small one in return.

“I am. See you later, Erica.”

“Bye, Dr. Tom,” she answered, watching him turn and walk slowly out of the alley.


End file.
